Grateful Harvest

The girls were tasked with getting in a bit better touch
with their food today. They already are pretty far advanced on this path,
knowing where meat comes from, how milk, cheese, and butter come to us, planting
and growing cycles, how to clean and cook vegetables—but the meat is a bit
harder.

Especially for the Little Middle, who avoids all meat except poultry. We
have all come to a place of acceptance, through years of tears shed, or tears
avoided, about life and death on a small homestead. It is still hard, and I
hope it always will be.

We are able to honor the spirit of life we share with
all creation when we show reverence for it. An empathetic tear or torn heart
for its [brief!!] suffering, are tears well shared.Little Middle cleverly avoided most of this
process, and when I sent her out for her photo documentation she took the last
picture—the one of the few meaty chickens still alive. Little Bird, however,
got some great photos. They are a bit graphic if you are sensitive, so I’ve put
them all toward the bottom of this post.